
Have you checked out our series about penguin breeding season: Love on Thin Ice? The series follows the love lives of our 22 gentoo penguins as they navigate breeding season 2025. From stealing rocks to stealing partners and learning that some penguins don’t actually mate for life, there is no shortage of drama! Check it out on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook!
Pygoscelis papua
Fast Facts
- Gentoo penguins are the fastest swimming penguins, with top speeds of 22 miles per hour
- They will eat 10% of their body weight each day.
- Gentoos are the third largest penguin species.
- Penguin knees sit at an angle, so they are always squatting.


Range
Falkland and other Sub-antarctic Islands

Habitat
Marine rocky shores

Size
30 inches tall

Nutrition
Fish, krill, and squid